TOWN OF DOVER - This will be a year of change and growth for Masonry Specialists, a local company that does commercial brick, block and stone installations.

Kathleen Froode, president and owner of Masonry Specialists, started the company with her brother, Anthony Fox, in 1994. In about two months, the company will move into a new, $1.25 million headquarters, also in Evergreen Commerce Park.

"Many pieces of our puzzle are all scattered," Froode said.

When the company moves from 21801 Durand Ave. to 4330 Conifer Court, "this will put it together and make us much more efficient," Froode said. "It will increase profit margins and future revenue, and we'll be able to bite off a little bigger piece (of work)."

The company targets southeastern Wisconsin and has five jobs going now, a typical number, Froode said.

Past projects include Grace Church at 3626 Highway 31 and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Sports and Activity Center.

Masonry Specialists employs 83 people in five different unions now - 75 of them field employees, Froode said.

"We might reach 100 even by the end of the year," she said, and hold steady at that level next year.

Froode and Fox have built and own their future headquarters through a separate company, F2 Investments. They obtained a nearly $450,000 loan from Southport Bank and an equal loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The latter was arranged by Racine County Economic Development Corp.

The project broke ground in October, and Froode expects the company will move in June. Masonry Specialists will use 4,000 square feet for office operations and 60,000 square feet of cold storage. Another 4,000 square feet are available for another tenant or two.

As for the bottom line, after averaging about $7 million in revenues for the past five years, Froode expects to reach $8 million this year and $8.4 next year.